Socket wrench



Dec. 18, 1962 T. L. SHEPHERD SOCKET WRENCH Filed March 7, 1960 D r Rm Y w A A M w ...w w! 4 I. I s 6 F. m u O .w. 4 mv w E\ a m 6 B 2 United States Patent 3,068,728 SOCKET WRENCH Thomas L. Shepherd. 7260 SE. Tenino, Portland, Oreg. Filed Mar. 7, 1960, Ser. No. 13,259 1 Claim. (Cl. 81-177) This invention relates to improvements in socket wrenches and more particularly to a device of this character wherein the same embodies a shank adapted to have detachably positioned upon one end thereof, socket elements of different shapes and sizes, and adapted for detachable engagement at its opposite end with a suitable bit brace.

An important object of the invention is to provide a device having a socket head mounted on the shank by a pivotal connection so that the socket may be manually operated without a bit brace at any angle through 90 degrees on either side of the shank with the shank serving as a lever arm, and to provide a sleeve slidable on the shank and lockable on the socket head for locking it rigidly to the shank whereby the device may be employed as a straight wrench.

A further object is to provide a tool of this character which is of simple and practical construction, positive, efiicient and reliable in operation, relatively inexpensive to manufacture and otherwise well adapted for the purpose for which the same is intended.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a tool made in accordance with my invention, and with the socket head in a locked position.

FIGURE 2 is a view similar to FIGURE 1 rotated through 90 degrees with the socket-locking sleeve in a retracted position and the socket head at right angles to the tool shank.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 33 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 2 showing a modified form of the invention.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the modification showing in full lines the socket head locked to the Shank for use as a straight wrench and in broken lines the adaptability of the head for use at angles relative to the shank.

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 66 of FIGURE 4, and FIGURE 7 is a side elevational view of a further modification.

With continuing reference to the drawing, and particularly FIGURES l to 3 thereof, reference numeral 1 indicates a round shank which may be of any desired length and provided at one end with an angular tapering head 2 for attachment to the usual chuck or socket of a bit brace (not shown) whereby said shank may be efiectively rotated.

The opposite end portion of the shank 1 is enlarged as shown and bifurcated at its bottom end to provide a pair of rigid spaced apart lugs 3 and 4 through which a pivot pin 5 is secured. Intermediate the ends of the enlarged portion the shank is provided with annular grooves 6 and 7 with which are selectively engageable the top nodular ends of spring fingers 10, 11 and 12 integrated at their bottom ends with a locking sleeve 13 slidably mounted upon the shank 1 and thereby adapted to be moved into the extended position shown in FIGURE 1 or into the retracted position shown in FIGURE 2. Engagement of the spring fingers in the grooves 7 or 6 holds the sleeve in these respective positions.

Swingably mounted between the lugs 3 and 4 by means of the pin 5 is a square-shaped lug 15 adapted for engagement with a correspondingly shaped recess 16 in a socket head 17, it being understood in this connection that a variety of these socket heads may be employed in connection with the wrench, whereby nuts and bolts of difierent sizes and shapes may be applied to or removed from work pieces. For maintaining the socket head upon the free end of the lug 15, the lug is provided with a spring-pressed ball 18 for obvious purposes.

With the parts in the position shown in FIGURE 1, the tool is operable by a bit brace, or the like, as a straight wrench with the socket head locked in axial alignment with the shank 1 by the locking sleeve 13. With the locking sleeve retracted as in FIGURE 2, the tool may be manually operated without a bit brace at any angle through degrees on either side of the shank with the shank serving as a lever arm.

'In the modification shown in FIGURES 4-6, the shank 1A is also provided with an angular tapering head 2A at one of its ends and bifurcated into rigid lugs 3A and 4A at its opposite end to which the squared lug 15A is pivotally and slidably attached by a pin 5A extending through an elongated slot 20 in the squared lug. The socket head 17A is removably attached to the lug 15A as at 18A. Between the lugs 3A and 4A the top end of the shank 1A is provided with an upwardly opening square recess 21 to receive, as shown in full lines in FIGURE 5, the outer or bottom end of the lug 15A for locking the socket head 17A in axial alignment with the tool shank for bit brace operation as a straight wrench.

For maintaining this locked engagement, I provide a plunger 25 slidably mounted within the slot 20 and at all times caused to forcibly bear against the pin 5A by means of a compression spring 26 held within a recess 27 in the end of the lug 15A by a set screw or the like as at 28. The plunger and spring will yield to permit unlocking of the parts and shifting of the lug 15A relative to the two upwardly diverging edges 21A of the recess in positioning the socket head for manual operation out of alignment with the shank and with the shank serving as a lever arm. The plunger and spring provide an elfective means for holding the socket head in any position from that of any misalignment as aforesaid and as shown, for example, in broken lines in FIGURE 5 to the right angular position shown in full lines in FIGURE 4.

In the further modification shown in FIGURE 7 the top end of the shank 1B is provided with the angular tapering head 23 and its bottom end is squared as at 30 and provided with a spring-pressed ball 31 for snap-on engagement with a recess 32 in the top end of a socket head 17B.

It is to be understood that I do not wish to be limited to the socket head as herein shown and described, since obviously other types of heads could be used such for instance as driver bits, taps, reamers or other similar tools operating by rotation.

While I have shown particular forms of embodiment of my invention, I am aware that many minor changes therein will readily suggest themselves to others skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

A wrench comprising a shank of round cross section, said shank having two spaced apart annular grooves in its upper end portion, a pair of spaced apart downwardly extending lugs integrated with the bottom end of said shank, a lug of square cross section disposed between said shank lugs and extending outwardly therefrom, a pin secured to said shank lugs and pivotally mounting said lug therebetween, a socket shank of an outside diameter matching that of the diameter of said wrench shank, said socket shank having a square axial opening in one of its ends and thereby engaged with said lug, the opposite end of the socket shank terminating in a socket head, a socket shank locking sleeve of uniform outside diameter and having a uniform inside diameter substantially the same as the outside diameter of said wrench shank and socket shank and thereby slidably mounted on said wrench shank for selective en'- gagement with said socket shank for locking the same in axial alignment with the wrench shank, circumferentially spaced spring fingers integrated at one of their ends with theshank engaging end of said locking sleeve and terminating at their opposite ends in integrated nodules selectively engageable with said annular grooves whereby to respectively lock said socket shank in alignment with the wrench shank or to free the socket shank for swinging movement to either side of the center line of the wrench shank.

UNITED STATES PATENTS References Cited in the file of this patent 662,966 Robertson Dec. 4, 1900 814,020 Clifiord Mar. 6, 1906 1,102,863 Bojas July 7, 1914' 1,380,643 Eagle June 7,'19 21' 1,523,022 Larson Jan. 13 192s 2,182,673 Magnano Dec; 5,1939 2,671,367 Modin -Mar. 9 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 924,330 France Mar. 3, 1947 

